Thursday, January 25, 2007

KCAC tapes & personal recollections

Hi everyone-

The treasure trove of KCAC tapes provided by Jeff & Jennifer Crawford is still languishing in my living room. The tapes have been carefully removed from the moldy/dirty boxes, and they are now kept in clean plastic storage bags while I explore options for preservation and copying. So far no less than three recording studios have said something along the lines of "we can't do this but you should check with...", and only one has provided even a rough idea of cost ($100 per hour of studio time and "count on it being a fairly lengthy effort"). There's also a less ambitious/less expensive alternative being looked at, which would involve some professional tape cleaning, a home tape deck (probably mine) for playback, and speed correction software to slow the resulting audio down to the proper 1 7/8 IPS speed. Be patient and stay tuned; this is worth doing right the first time.

Here's a new idea. Everybody please start writing down your personal stories and memories relevant to this historical project. How did you get involved with KCAC/KDKB? What were your responsibilities or associations? Who did you know or work with at the station? How did you meet? What significant dates or events in the stations' history can you recall? Got any behind-the-scenes stories? (Not gossip or dirt, just operationl/business stuff that the public didn't necessarily see or know about. Or hey, gossip and dirt, if you prefer - there must have been personality conflicts, "creative differences," power struggles, etc. going on.) How did these radio stations influence, interact with, or reflect the socio-political mood of the times (anti-war activism, womens' lib, free speech movements, other alternative media, etc.)? What sorts of contacts and relationships did KCAC/KDKB have with the "straight" media of the day (Arizona Republic, local TV, other radio stations, etc.)? What did KCAC/KDKB do to support local musicians and artists? What was the drug scene like in those days? (Don't worry, the statute of limitations has long since expired.) What was most important to you about these radio stations and the people associated with them? How do you feel about them with 30-plus years of hindsight? And so on, and so forth. Respond to these topics and/or any others you want to, on the blog or as private emails to me at tomwright666@yahoo.com. These will all go into the archive, either with your names attached or as "anonymous" contributions if you prefer. Park yourself in front of the computer and get to work!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Howdy, Tom,

Great post, great mind food for us olztimers dis-eased survivors. We will rummage around in the attics of our remaining cells and try to remember the then unforgetable events that shaped them wild, weird and offtime wacky
roads we traveled to enlightenment, madness and acceptance of the Here n Now, then and Now.

I think I posted to you the way our COWBOYS ON MARS ? 2 track tapes were treated at Prairie Sun Studios..Bake em overnight at really low temp in the oven then run them slow, reel to reel, ever ready to stop an unstick the parts that are still stuck. Best of luck.

Bob Gately

Mariah Fleming said...

Sounds like more fun than baking a turkey! Carry on! Like Jerry Riopelle said "Expect a Miracle!"
(o:

Anonymous said...

My cheeks are hurting; I've been smiling ever since I found this blog and have been reading it for the last hour. I remember at the break of dawn and turning the radio on and waiting for KCAC to come on. I lived just off Central Ave and Coolidge and would wait to see when the lights would come on. Bill Compton and Dwight Tindle, wow my cheeks are hurting. I live in the Midwest now but do visit the valley every year or so. I got to sign off and give my cheeks a rest. And thanks for a great blog.

Mariah Fleming said...

You never know what glittering gems you're going to find on the KCAC Lives site, and as the saying goes "the more gold miners, the glitterier!"*

(*Note to self proclaimed political pundit Stephen Colbert: I made up that word, don't try to take the credit or you'll have some ancient Norwegian spirits out to haunt you!!)

It's a treat find your post all the way from the midwest! And now that you've had all day for your cheeks to rest, sign back in and make it a daily habit 'cause there's gold in these hills.

If your cheeks can handle it, click on the archives link and travel back to, shall we say, the 'genesis' of this blog. It's taken more than 6 days and nights for us to create this world, but here it is!

Welcome aboard and enjoy! Feel free to send your memories of those days…where were you when you first heard the station,what are the most memorable things you recall from listening to Bill and Dwight and the rest of the radio pioneers…we are minutia addicts so have at it!

Anonymous said...

Hello,
We have a reel to reel that we did buy & use for the KCAC tapes. Tom your welcome to use it. I'm sure don't want you all to spend $100's of dollars if we can do it our selfs. Let me know. I like the group effort here very cool!
Thanks,
Jeff & Jennifer Crawford